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Themes and topics of Xenogears
Xenogears deals with many themes and topics. Despite that the game was given a T for teen rating by the ESRB, the game discusses and deals with a lot of mature and controversial subject matter, such as religion, genocide, sexuality, discrimination, and more. Some of these topics were considered to be surprisingly dark and complex for a game of its RPG genre, especially at the time of the game's release. The game is hailed by fans for its religious allusions, containing overtones of Gnosticism, Jewish mysticism, Jungian psychology, humanism and Judeo-Christian Biblical symbolism, as well as questions about the nature of faith and religion. It also delves into philosophical and psychological issues, using and examining terms and ideas from Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. Topics This is a point list of notable topics touched on in Xenogears, as well as brief examples how. It deals with and examines: *Anima and animus - A major theme of the game. *Alcoholism - Billy's father, Jessie Black, is a drunkard. In addition, there are many bars in the game. *Art and the power of art *Bestiality - Chu-Chu has a bestial love for Fei. *Brainwashing, mind control and indoctrination, and how difficult it is to undo it because it is literally mental programming which can become hardwired. In other words, brain pathways which are formed in a very specific way, and a brain begins to think the same way with the same thoughts, over and over again until it can't accept new ideas *Cannibalism and the questionable ethics of procuring meat *Capitalism, classism and wealth inequality *Child abuse *Collective unconscious *Death *Drug addiction *Dysfunctional and abusive families *Fear and a system built on fear - the fear of death, being alone, outcasted, unwanted, unaccepted, rejected and never being good enough *Free will, the power and physical manifestation of mental will and thought *Gender *Genocide *Gun violence *Humans trying to play the role of "God" *Id, ego and super-ego *Inferiority complexes (jealousy, and the ability to love humans because they are different - the ability to love other people because they have different opinions and beliefs so that humanity, as a whole, can have a well-rounded view with all perspectives) *Ignorance *Indoctrination *Language *Life and existence *Manslaughter *Mental health (mental illness and depression) *Morality *Overpopulation and depopulation *Parental abuse and parental abandonment *Philosophy *Politics *Psychology and psychological damage *Race, racism, racial purification, eugenics and the master race, and the desire to kill all humans without blonde hair and blue eyes *Religion and spirituality (theism, deism and atheism, the relationship between humans and deities - and the dangers of religion) *Salvation *Sexuality, rape, pedophilia, child molestation, incest and sexual orgies (Xenogears contains three implied sex scenes) *Slavery (spiritual and mental slavery/bondage) *Suicide *The development, evolution and ascension of consciousness (the awakening of human's subconscious and their true potential) *The human condition *The role of technology *Tradition (and why it can be stupid to follow tradition without question) *Transhumanism *Trauma *Truth and lies (and how truth will help humanity escape their mental prison and mental hell) *Value (and how values can become skewed and/or taught to children) *War *Xenophobia Themes God and religion * The protagonist Fei is called the "slayer of God" and the game contains a song called "One Who Bares Fangs at God". * The game contains themes questioning blind faith towards religious authority, showing the church (Ethos) being corrupt and filled with in-fighting, as well as references to priests raping children. * How god and religion can be used as a tool and a weapon to enslave, brainwash and manipulate humanity, as well as a tool to limit the consciousness of humanity. * Xenogears examines the relationship between humanity and deities. Sophia says, "Faith in god... Do not look for it on the outside... For it is something one must build from within oneself..." * The final boss of the game is Deus, a warped machine which is supposed to be a god, but is in reality man-made. * The Wave Existence tells Fei, "God... some would refer to me as that. From a certain point of view, it is right to view me as such. But at the same time, I am not." Corruption, oppression, resistance and revolution * Humanity is being ruled by a secret organization held within the floating city of Solaris, which controls the aspects and facets of society and manipulate people through propaganda and psychological warfare. * An interconnected grouping of oppressive governments (the Gazel Ministry and Etrenank, Solaris) which do not care about the welfare of the people and instead only care about System Deus. * The government bodies of various countries instigate and divides people to fight among themselves, both in secret and openly, for various reasons. * Humans are subsequently turned into monsters called Reapers (Wels). * Recycled meat in the Soylent System to be eaten by other humans, filled with additives to control the public. * Human liberation and freedom from an oppressive regime, and from an alien will that seems contrary to what its creation wants. * Xenogears criticizes the idea and notion that some humans are more inherently valuable than other humans because of some birthright, and are allowed to rule, dominate and control others. Human nature * Xenogears contains strong examples of the dangers of massive amounts of people following other blindly without thought or question involved, and the dangers of hive mentality and herd mentality. * Xenogears questions the need for war and violence. Kim Kasim says, "I don't care if they hear me. All the people here are also fools! Think about it. What's the purpose of fighting each other on such a tiny planet as this? Fighting out of fear of being hunted into a corner... Rushing in to fight as if there were only so many 'reserved seats' to the rights of life... Starting a war is stupid. Inciting it is also stupid. Killing people as an act of terrorism or as a protest of against wars that kill people is just as stupid. You're all fools!" * Themes of xenophobia and racism are expressed in the hostile relationship between Solaris and Lambs, as well as Demi-humans in Kislev. * Humans seek and want a place to belong - a place to call "home". The protagonist, Fei, loses everything - his mother, his village, his friends (Timothy and Alice). Early in the game, he is exiled from Lahan and considers suicide because he has nowhere left to go in the world. Citan says, "It is much easier to be given a place to belong to than to make one yourself." Fei says, "I, we, everyone... we just want to make a place where we can belong... That's what we were fighting for... But now..." * Humans don't get along and are so different from one another, with conflicting beliefs and opinions. Karellen says, "Humans will never come to understand each other. You said that she is the person you love. But can you say that you even truly understand each other? All humans do is place themselves at a comfortable distance from each other and call that 'mutual understanding', 'spiritual unity', or 'true love'... but it is all lies! Man cannot associate with others without first deceiving themselves. That is the way that they were created." A Chu-chu in Shevat says, "You humans are truly unusual living beings, aren't chu? You're all like shattered fragments of a mirror." *By nature, humans are intrinsically and inherently flawed, with many weaknesses and imperfections. However, every human is different and has different strengths and talents, and flaws and weaknesses. It's fine to excel and superior, and it's also fine to be weak and inferior. Marguerite "Margie" Fatima says, "God could have created humans perfectly... But then, humans would not have helped each other." Elly says, "Some things only the weak can feel... But weakness does not make them servile. It's because they are weak, that they can develop kindness... and never look down on people. That is where real human interaction comes from. Everyone has weaknesses. Even you did at first. Your weakness drew you to each other... And made you grow strong. Never forget those feelings. When you all lived together side by side..." Category:Xenogears